AN: I HOPE YOU LIKE THIS! I will post another chapter real soon!

Chapter 5

Ethan heard faint, disconnected voices calling his name. Some were very familiar and some seemed to belong to people he had long forgotten. It was all a haze, really. He saw blurry white streaks of light whisk past him and across the ceiling. The swirling movement made his head spin and he caught onto something, someone's arm, very tightly. Immediately, he saw a face close up against him, it was worried and seemed to asking a million questions, telling him to hold on. The face looked like his, like a mirror. He looked away thinking his mind was playing tricks. He felt the same person touch his face, tapping it slightly. By the time he had identified the person, amidst the hazy memory and sluggish pace with which it was working, darkness was at hand.

"You're going to okay, Ethan! I promise!" the mirror said.

That was the last thing Ethan heard.

Aiden sat quietly at his brother's bedside. The mood had been sombre. Ethan was recovering, healing but not very fast. The amount of Wolfsbane in his system made healing a slow and painful process. Aiden felt his eye lids drooping but he forced them apart. He had to stay awake. He rubbed his eyes and looked around. The room was quiet, peaceful. Melissa had fixed it up real nice. They had initially taken Ethan to the clinic and Deaton and done his bit, saved Ethan's life. It became apparent, after the wounds had been cleaned that Ethan would heal, but it would take time. Scott had graciously offered his house and Melissa had been more than nice, checking in on Ethan every two hours, bringing Aiden food and water as he refused to leave the bedside.

Aiden looked at his brother ruefully. One side of his face had been burnt, the skin almost peeling away to reveal blood under. His body seemed to be a mesh of shrapnel wounds and Wolfsbane burns. When they got him to Deaton's Aiden was almost sure that he brother was dead and had become quite hysterical. But Deaton knew better. He worked tirelessly and managed to save his life.

The wounds were healing but slowly so the bandages were still in place. The facial wounds were healing better than the rest of the body. Though that part was still raw, swollen and scarred, the peeling skin was gone and he was starting to look like Ethan again.

Aiden was completely engulfed in his thoughts when Lydia stepped into the room.

"How is he?" Aiden started at the voice. When he saw Lydia, he calmed down and even managed a nod.

"Healing. Will take a day or two."

Lydia pursed her lips and sat down on the other side of the bed.

"I heard what happened."

"Hmm," Aiden mumbled, "he was trying to save me," he completed, gesturing towards Ethan with his head.

"And what about you?"

"I'm alright. Mrs McCall is an amazing lady."

Lydia searched Aiden's face and exhaled audibly, like she was exasperated about something. She had heard the story. Derek had been very clear as to what went down. He had also told her that when they barged in, John was about to execute Ethan and Aiden didn't lift a finger to stop it.

Lydia had been livid to hear that and had decided to confront Aiden. She found it difficult to reconcile the image of the devoted caring brother that she saw in front of her to the cold heart and cowardly brother who would rather let his twin get shot. She considered for a moment that maybe Derek was wrong. But then she remembered Scott and the look on his face as Derek narrated the story. It was true, every bit of it. Lydia decided to haul Aiden over the coals on this one.

"I meant, why didn't you try to save your brother?"

Aiden looked up, startled and shocked after the fact.

"What do you mean?" he asked, his heart skipping.

"Derek said that John tried to kill Ethan, and you didn't do anything to help him. If Scott and Derek hadn't arrived, he would be dead by now," Lydia said, matter-of-factly and pursed her lips in disapproval.

Aiden just stared at her. She actually felt bad for a moment when she saw just how devastated he seemed at the accusation.

"You think I would let my brother die?" Aiden's voice was trembling.

Lydia realized that her words had been too harsh and decided to change tracks, but she was still insistent that she wanted Aiden to recognise his faults. She mellowed down and started.

"Remember when Jennifer and Kali battled it out in Derek's loft?"

"And we almost died? Yes."

"Well, Ethan was the one who protected me. He wrapped his arms around me to save me from the glass and the fight."

"I was there too," Aiden replied, not sure where Lydia was taking this.

"Yes, but you were protecting me because you liked me. And Ethan was protecting me because he knew that's what you'd want. And it was the right thing to do."

Lydia looked closely to see what effect her words were having. Aiden seemed pale and expressionless. Even Lydia couldn't understand what he was thinking.

"My point is," she continued getting up, "that Ethan always seems to have your best interests at heart but you never seem to care enough."

"How could you say that!" this time Aiden's voice was laced with anger. Lydia was pretty sure that had Ethan not been sleeping, Aiden would have shouted the roof off.

"Why else would you just sit there and watch a hunter hold a gun to your brother's head?" she asked, more coldly than she had intended to. Aiden looked like someone had punched him in the gut and he just stood there, eyes downcast and lips pressed into a thin line.

Lydia sighed, hoping that she got through to Aiden, bent down and kissed Ethan's forehead lightly. "Get well soon, Ethan," she whispered to him and then turned to her heels and left.

Aiden felt emotions raging inside him; he relaxed his muscles as Lydia disappeared. He was too afraid of completely breaking down in front of her. He felt tears threatening to wash over onto his cheeks. He dropped down on his chair like a dead weight. Aiden had been mentally playing the scene over and over again ever since they got out. He kept seeing Ethan with a gun to his head, and moments later, Ethan, jumping to save him. Aiden felt like a lousy brother and he was mentally beating himself up for it. But hearing it from Lydia was a whole new low. The reason why Aiden froze was not something anyone knew. In fact, Aiden was willing himself to fight but his terror got the better of him for a few seconds. But Lydia made it sound like he didn't care at all! Aiden felt his heart ache and with every passing second, he felt a rising pressure in his chest. He took Ethan's hand in his and pressed his face against it and started crying.

WHAT DO YOU THINK? I am sorry if you think Lydia is being mean, but from her point of view, she just wants Aiden to own up to his mistakes. she just doesn't know half the story... *evil laugh*